Finding Her Own Path
Catching Up With Sonya Everett, Class of 2015
Sonya Everett moved to Chicago the day she started high school. After growing up in St. Charles, where she was one of three Black students in her district, Sonya’s parents were excited for her to continue her education at Josephinum Academy.
Sonya wasn’t so sure.
“I didn’t want to go to an all-girls Catholic school. When my parents told me, I thought they had ruined my life,” she remembered with a laugh. “But it turned out that The Jo was like a family. Small classes were super beneficial for me, and we were all there to support each other. And learning the importance of having women on your side—especially in a world that is run by men—is priceless.”
At Josephinum Academy, Sonya participated in the theater program, which helped her make eye contact, express herself, and be more vulnerable. She joined clubs like NHS, participated in the Glee Club, and interviewed Chicagoans through an interactive journalism course. And in 2015, Sonya developed a nonprofit organization that taught students how important community is for students as they transition from high school to college. With encouragement from the teacher of her women's literature class—one of her favorite courses at the Jo—she entered the idea into a student competition run by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship.
She was named Chicago’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
But life soon became challenging for Sonya. She graduated with a full ride to college out of state, but her mental health began to suffer—so she chose to transfer to a school closer to home. When that school didn’t work out either, Sonya had a decision to make:
What was the right next step for her?
Instead of doing what everyone expected her to do, she bravely paved her own path. She found jobs at coffee shops and restaurants, pursued creative endeavors, and eventually made her way into a career in tech.
“When I dropped out of school, I felt like I wasn’t good enough, or disciplined enough,” she shared. “I didn’t realize that sometimes people learn differently. And the way that college is set up is just not the way I learn. I decided to never stop learning—so now everything is college.”
After years of making her way, while also struggling with addiction and abuse, she is clean, sober, and safe—and she’s using her story to inspire others.
“It’s ok to be afraid to do something,” she advised. “It’s what you do with that fear. It’s ok to have emotions, to be overwhelmed, to be sad—it’s just what you do with that. That’s what I’d tell current Josephinum Students—that you’re worth too much to spend your energy in the wrong places. The world might be hard, but it’s all about what we do with what we have.”
Sonya’s journey hasn’t been easy—but it has been uniquely hers. And that’s all she’s ever wanted. Today, she spends her days working as a project coordinator for a financial CRM service. In the evenings and on weekends, she makes music and art.
“I’m looking forward to making more music,” Sonya said. “Some people want to be an influencer—I just want to be myself, but loud. At the end of the day, I want to be able to look at all the things I create, hand them to my younger self, and say, ‘You did this. You did this for yourself.’”